


The Accidental Nanny

by afewmistakesago



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, No Magic AU, actually a for sure slow burn, modern day AU, slowburn-ish, the nanny and undomestic goddess au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-02-26 14:39:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13237842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afewmistakesago/pseuds/afewmistakesago
Summary: Belle French never planned on becoming a nanny to an eight year old boy, and she certainly never planned on falling for the boy's father.





	1. Chapter 1

It was simultaneously the best and worst day of Belle French’s life.

The best, because she’d stood up to her horrid boss and quit, and the worst because she’d stood up to her horrid boss and quit. After storming out of the library without so much as a look back at the stunned Ms. Zelena Green, Belle had ended up on the train, and now she didn’t quite know where she was going. She hadn’t double-checked the route before boarding, and this definitely was not the way home to her apartment that she wasn’t sure she would be able to afford in a few months time.

 _“Well, today’s been quite exhilarating,”_ she thought, looking at the unfamiliar scenery. Not many people were on the train in the afternoon. _“Because most people have jobs they’re at now,”_ she thought, half-bitterly. Her career was hardly cold on the table and yet she was already mourning it. It’s not like there weren’t other libraries, but quitting because the boss was financially and morally bankrupt wasn’t exactly a “perseverance” trait that employers looked for. Her initial plan for quitting had been to show Zelena her impeccable résumé and qualifications and calmly explain why her current workplace conditions were intolerable, but that had all gone out the door once she saw Zelena’s snooty face.

Belle bit her lip, looking around at her companions and feeling too foolish to ask where they were going. A smooth overhead voice announced “S _torybrooke_ ” as the train pulled up to its next destination, and Belle felt something connect in her brain. _“Oh, Ruby lives there now,”_ she thought. _“I could just visit her.”_

Ruby Lucas was a friend from college who had dropped out, not satisfied with academic life. Last Belle had heard from Ruby, she had moved back in with her grandmother, and was helping out at the family diner and learning how to run the connecting hotel. Belle had been meaning to visit for months, but had been too busy with the long hours Zelena had been having her work. Belle got off the train, wondering if she needed to call a taxi or something to get to the diner.

“Excuse me?” she asked a red-haired man leaving the station beside her. “Can you tell me how to get to the diner? Can I walk to it from here?”

“Granny’s?” the man smiled, and she nodded. “It’s walkable. Just down the street, take the first left, another left, a right, and then you’re there.”

Belle thanked him, and he was off, and she was left staring at the road. She tried to remember what he’d said, thinking over and over to herself _left, left, right_ …. And then she wasn’t sure. Had he said left, right, left, and then left again? She stared at the street sign after her first few turns, wondering which way to go. Sycamore Street, or Wayfarer Way? _“The street names are idyllic, at least,”_ Belle thought, turning down Sycamore Street. At the end of that road, however, there was no diner. There was a large, pink house, just short of what she would call a mansion, with a Cadillac sitting in the driveway. Belle sighed, looking down at her phone, which was blinking to tell her she had no battery.

Taking a deep breath, she walked up to the door. Just ask for directions, find the diner, ask Ruby for a phone charger. Knocking, she didn’t expect to immediately have the door opened, a sharp dressed man answering and giving her a once-over. “You’re late,” he said. “But not so late that I’d ignore the knock.”

He turned, beckoning her inside, and Belle felt her brow furrow. “I’m sorry, I -”

“Yes, yes, I’m sure you have an excuse,” he said, clearly annoyed. For some reason, Belle followed him into the house.

The inside of the house was organized chaos, filled with knick-knacks and photos of a young boy. _“Must be his son,”_ she thought, following him to a living room. He pointed to a couch and despite herself, she sat down.

“This is all just a misunderstanding-” Belle began, but he offered his hand instead.

“Callum Gold,” he said, “You can address me as Mr. Gold. You’re the fifth nanny I’ve interviewed today, I’ve heard it all.”

“Pardon?” she asked.

“The advertisement said I would stop taking applicants at 2pm, but it’s fine. The girls the  agency sent over yesterday were dreadful,” he said, rolling his eyes.  She noticed he had an accent, definitely Scottish.

Belle fidgeted, feeling slightly frustrated at him for being so annoyed about her being late to this interview she didn't even know she was attending to begin with.

“Your résumé?” he asked, looking at her bag.

Eyes widening, Belle realized she _did_ have her résumé and she _did_ need a job. Nannying couldn’t be too terribly difficult. She had babysat in high school. Reaching into her bag, she handed it over to him with a slightly shaky hand.

 _“What the hell am I doing?”_  She wondered if he could sense her agitation. Probably thought it was just her nerves for this interview he was set on having.

“Belle French,” he read aloud, and she nodded. He settled into his chair, looking over her college accreditations and career experience. Belle swallowed hard, taking a moment to really look at this man. He was older, presumably in his 50s, with long, graying hair. Sharp nose, deep brown eyes. Not bad looking, if she thought about it. Attractive, if she kept watching him long enough. He looked up at her suddenly, and she averted her eyes, hoping he hadn’t felt her staring.

“Why does a librarian want to nanny an eight-year-old boy?” Gold asked, sounding  bemused.

Belle shrugged, thinking fast. “Needed a career change, and I’ve always loved children.”

“And there’s housekeeping duties associated with the job for when Bailey is at school and you're not with him at an after-school activity or play date,” he continued, not really responding to her answer. “Simple things, keeping the house tidy. Dusting, hoovering, ironing, polishing silver, the like.”

Belle had never polished a thing in her life, but tried to make a serious face, nodding. Looking down at her résumé, he said, “Are you up to date with CPR certification? It looks like the last time you took a course in that was… sophomore year of high school.”

Belle laughed nervously. “I suppose I could use a refresher,” she said.

“That wouldn’t be hard to set up,” he said, more to himself than her, looking down at her qualifications again. “I am partner at my law firm, and admittedly a bit of a workaholic, so I may work long hours. You could have, for example, a 6am to 9pm shift. But I always spend my weekends and days off with Bailey. He is the most important thing to me. I do work from home occasionally, but we wouldn’t get in each other's way.”

“I understand,” Belle said.

“I may need to take overnight trips. Would you be comfortable spending the night here, if necessary?” he asked.

Belle nodded. “Certainly, whatever is required.”

“Ms. French, why should I hire you?”

Gold’s deep brown eyes were set on her, and she mostly couldn’t believe that she’d faked her way through this bizarre interview thus far. All of the interview skills she’d learned in college were coming back to her, and she thought she had answered his questions nicely so far.

“Well…” she began, mulling it over and wanting to be honest. “Maybe you shouldn’t. I don’t have any nannying experience like the agency girls already do. I haven’t babysat since high school. I really do love kids, I love my friend Mary Margaret’s baby, which certainly isn’t the same as an eight-year-old child. But I’m a fast learner, and I do need a job, and I promise I’ll try my best.”

He kept watching her, as if waiting for her to say more. Belle looked down, reaching for her bag. “I’ll just go. Thanks.”

“Ms. French,” he said, motioning for her to pause. She stopped, purse in her hand. “I’m willing to take a chance on you.”

She sat down, baffled. “Why?”

“That was the most honest thing anyone’s said to me in this whole process. You’ll still have to meet Bailey, of course, perhaps tomorrow, but I think you could work quite well here.”

“Oh,” she said, smiling. “Thank you.”

“We can go over salary and such once I know Bailey likes you, but you can expect around…”

He slid her an estimate, and Belle was shocked. She could now be quite comfortable in her apartment. “Is that suitable?” he asked, taking back the paper, and she nodded. “Great.”

Gold gave her a business card. “My personal number is written on the back,” he said. “Call me later and we’ll hammer out details.”

Belle slipped it into her purse, half wondering if she was dreaming and she’d wake up and never see this man again. “Thank you, Mr. Gold,” she said, getting up to leave for real. He walked with her to the door, and she paused before walking away.

“Mr. Gold?”

“Yes, Ms. French?” he said, standing in the doorway still.

“Can you give me directions to Granny’s Diner? An old friend works there.”

He smirked. “Certainly. Down the road, first left, just past the bakery and you’re there. But don’t get the lasagna.”

She laughed. “I’ll take your word for it. Thank you!”

“Goodbye, Ms. French,” he said, giving her a tight-lipped smile before closing the door.

Committing his words to heart, she finally arrived at the diner she’d initially been searching for in Storybrooke. Entering, she was greeted by the smell of greasy diner food and the site of her friend leaning on the counter. “Ruby!” she exclaimed, and her friend immediately brightened when she saw her.

“Belles!” she yelled back, running to give Belle a hug. “What are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“It’s a long story,” Belle said, and Ruby took her hand and led her to a table.

“Why don’t you tell me all about it over some of Granny’s famous fries and iced tea? I was just about to take my break.”

“Sounds perfect,” Belle said, wondering how just that morning she’d exploded on her boss at the library, and now her new employer was a mysterious lawyer and she was suddenly accidentally a nanny.


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you nervous?” Ruby asked, and Belle shrugged, taking another bite of her omelette. She’d stopped at the diner for some support before her first official day as Bailey Gold’s nanny.

“Not really. It shouldn’t be too hard. Take the kid to school, clean, grocery shop, pick the kid up, take kid to soccer practice, make dinner. Repeat,” Belle said, trying to sound like she knew what she was doing. Her stomach was flip-flopping around, but she was trying to maintain her feigned confidence.

“Sounds so domestic. And robotic,” Ruby said. “I never pictured you as a nanny. I still can’t believe you’re going to work for Gold.”

Apparently, her new employer had a reputation. Though not a ruthless man, according to Ruby he was usually very indifferent to most people, except his son and his son’s friends. He was strict about rent for the half of the town he was landlord over, and he was known for being quick and calculating in the courtroom. Belle’s interactions with him had still been minimal, but her curiosity was rising.

“It’s not going to be robotic, it’s really not a ton of work for what that man pays. And I can’t believe he didn’t tell me he practically owns Storybrooke,” Belle said. She had gone over to the Golds after her interview and met Bailey, and he seemed like a nice but shy kid. Mr. Gold had apologized that she could not shadow the old nanny, but Aurora (who Bailey called ‘Rory’) had her baby earlier than expected. Rory and baby Philip were both sound and well now, but she was too busy to come back and ease Belle into the job.

Ruby nodded. “The man is an enigma. Let me know if you find out what happened to Bailey’s mom.”

Belle twisted her mouth. “Not really my place to invade.”

Mr. Gold had given her a binder with Bailey’s schedule for the month, filled with soccer games, karate practice, and playdates. It also included his preferred foods for the lunches she would pack, the kinds of snacks he was allowed to have, what shows he couldn’t watch, and everything else that was supposedly required to keep an eight-year-old happy and healthy. It was a lot of information, but Belle had particularly noticed a name highlighted in yellow.

 _“Milah Conyers - Bailey’s mother - call me_ **_ASAP_ ** _if she calls or attempts contact.”_

She figured the situation with Bailey’s mother and father wasn’t great, and didn’t plan on prying further than she was invited.

“I’ve gotta go, Rubes,” she said, putting some cash on the table. “I’ll let you know how it goes later!”

Belle felt like the drive from Granny’s to the Gold’s house would get quite familiar should things go well with her new job. Although she had ended up at the Gold’s house by train and foot last time, she would need her car to be able to chauffeur Bailey around town. She was kind of surprised that Mr. Gold hadn’t done a check on her driving, but for all she knew he had without her knowing. She let herself in with the key Mr. Gold had given her, finding the two Gold men sitting at the kitchen table. “Good morning,” she said, trying to sound cheery as she hung her sweater on the coat rack.

“Ms. French,” Mr. Gold said simply as greeting, eyes on his newspaper. She would have to ask him to call her Belle. _“Ms. French”_ made her feel like she was a kindergarten teacher.

“Hi, Belle,” came Bailey’s shy voice, and she smiled at him.

She sat down at the table with them, perched on her chair. She wasn’t exactly sure what she should be doing in this time before Mr. Gold went to work. “I’ve made Bailey’s lunch for today, it’s on the counter, so you don’t have to worry about that,” Mr. Gold said. “You can look and see how I’ve done it. I was hoping that I could work from home today to help you should you have any questions, but unfortunately a meeting came up and I can’t miss it. I won’t be home until after dinner, unfortunately.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Belle said, half relieved she wouldn’t have him watching her but half nervous she may burn down the house if left unsupervised.

“Do you have any questions about the Monday list?” he asked, and she suddenly remembered the binder, pulling it out of her purse.

Flipping the page, she looked down the list. It was mostly housecleaning, and Bailey’s soccer practice after school. “No, I think I can manage.”

He nodded, setting down his newspaper and taking his plate to the kitchen sink. “Well, good. I have to be off, you should leave for school in twenty minutes if you don’t want to be late. Call if you have any questions.”

“Sounds great!” Belle said, and Gold kissed Bailey on the top of the head and said goodbye to him before leaving the room.

She stood up, calling out just before he left the room, “Have a good day at work, Mr. Gold.”

He turned back, looking at her somewhat curiously. “Thank you, Ms. French. You, too.”

Belle went to the counter, opening Bailey’s lunch box. “So, what do we have, kid?” she asked. “Juice box, sandwich - no crust, got it, grapes, and chips. Simple enough. Is that what you like most days?”

She turned to look at her little charge, and he nodded, then got an innocent look on his face. “I like cookies, too, but my Papa hardly ever puts them in.”

Belle pursed her lips, pretending to think. She knew enough about kids to know that he was going to try and push her limits in her first few days on the job. “Maybe I can sneak some in on Fridays as a treat.”

One day on the job, and she was already breaking Mr. Gold’s rules for sugar. Bailey laughed. She sat down next to him. “Finish your breakfast, Bailey, we’ve got only a little bit ‘til we need to leave for school.”

As he ate his waffles, she looked around the kitchen, opening cabinets and trying to learn where things are. “So, did you do anything fun this weekend?” she asked, looking back at Bailey.

“Papa and I went to the museum. They had an exhibit on dinosaurs that was pretty cool,” he said, finishing his orange juice and going to put his plate at the sink.

“That sounds fun! Do you guys do stuff like that a lot?” Belle asked, trying to keep up conversation. She needed to have things to talk about with him if she was going to be with him nearly all the time.

“Yeah, sometimes we go to the museum or the park or sports games.”

“Ooh, I wish my dad and I had done that when I was young,” Belle said, and Bailey smiled. “Now, where’s your book bag? I don’t want you to be late for school.”

Getting Bailey to school and back wasn’t difficult, and Belle guessed they could even walk there on days the weather was nice. He chattered on about some of the museum exhibits he had especially liked, but his favorite part of the day had been eating at the in-museum McDonald’s. Belle hid her smirk as she thought of the proper Mr. Gold wolfing down a quarter pounder.

 _“Storybrooke really is quite a small town,”_ Belle thought as she made the drive back. Before long, Belle was back at the Gold house, with hours between now and when she had to pick Bailey up. Sighing, she ran her finger down the list of things Mr. Gold wanted her to do today.

  * _Dishes from Breakfast_


  * _Mop kitchen floor - supplies in closet_


  * _Dust library_


  * _Vacuum living room_


  * _Dinner: Chicken, green beans, and potatoes - supplies in kitchen_  



_“Easy enough,”_ Belle thought, going to the sink and humming as she scrubbed the dishes. Leaving them to air dry, she looked around, wondering which closet he was talking about. The house was huge and the quick tour he’d given her on Friday was escaping her brain. She opened one door, finding herself in a walk-in pantry.

“Closet, where are you?” she said out-loud, leaving the kitchen and opening a door, finding a coat closet, but no cleaning supplies. At the end of the hall there was yet another door that led to a bathroom. Belle rolled her eyes, and started to close the door before seeing a door inside the bathroom. _“Victory,”_ Belle thought, opening it and finding a plethora of cleaning supplies.

She hemmed and hawed for a bit over which was the proper kind of mop and cleaner and duster, but picked what she would have used at home. She didn’t want to call Mr. Gold while he was in important meetings to ask just how he preferred his house to be dusted. After mopping the kitchen floor, Belle sat on the living room couch, taking a moment’s break and eating her thrown together lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It felt weird to be making food in someone else’s home. This house was already pretty much immaculate, even with all the trinkets on the shelves, but she wondered why Gold didn’t just hire a cleaning service as well as a nanny. Maybe it was cheaper to integrate the services.

Belle headed up the stairs, remembering him pointing to a corner and referring to it as the “library,” which had intrigued her. She turned on the lights. The “library” was a room with two walls of books with a few overstuffed chairs and a lamp, but it seemed cozy. In a way, then, she could still say she worked in the library, she thought with a laugh as she ran the duster over the spines of the many books. It seemed one shelf was filled with children’s books, and one with adult books. It warmed Belle’s heart that they seemed to be a family that encouraged reading, but she was bothered by the heavy curtains on the surrounding walls. The room needed more light. She’d have to open those up one day when she had more time.

After vacuuming, it was already time for her to pick Bailey up from school. She grabbed an orange from the fridge, and a water bottle, remembering they had to go straight to soccer practice.  “Hey,” Bailey said quietly as he got into her car, shrugging off his book bag.

“Hey!” she said, looking back in the mirror at him. “Good day at school?”

He nodded, but didn’t comment. Belle wondered if she should press him, but decided against it. “I brought you a snack.”

She handed back the orange and water before she turned out of the carpool lane. “Thanks,” he said. “I’m always hungry before soccer.”

She smiled. The soccer games were hosted by the Storybrooke Parks & Recreation center, which was a short drive from the school. “Is soccer your favorite sport?” she asked, looking back at Bailey when they got to a stop sign.

“I do like playing,” he said. “I’m not really good, though, like August or Grace.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re brilliant,” Belle said, turning into the parking lot. She had brought a lawn chair to sit and watch practice, feeling slightly strange around all the parents here to watch their child.

“Are you the Golds’ new nanny?” a tall man asked, setting his chair down next to her.

Belle looked up from the book she had swiped from Mr. Gold’s library. “How could you tell?”

“Jefferson Hatter,” the man said, reaching to shake her hand. “And because you’re the only woman here I don’t recognize.”

“Belle French,” she returned. “Today’s my first day.”

He nodded, looking at the boys and pointing to a small, pig-tailed girl. “That’s my Gracie.”

“Bailey mentioned her,” she said, finding Bailey standing a bit away from all the other kids. “Does he normally…?”

Jefferson grimaced a bit. “He’s kind of shy, and he fell pretty hard during the first game a couple weeks ago. I think it ruined his confidence.”

“Oh,” Belle said, her face dropping as she watched him timidly go up for his turn to try and kick the ball past the goalie. “Poor thing.”

“Eh, kids can bounce back fast. He’ll get his groove back.”

Her thoughts were turning over and over in her head as they drove home. “Bailey, Grace’s dad said you fell pretty hard during your first game, is that true?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled.

“What happened?”

“I tripped over a rock and scraped up my arm,” he said. “You can still kinda see it.”

He raised  his small arm, pointing out some faded bruises. “But it looks like it’s getting all better!” she said, “And certainly you can keep playing and not worry about falling. Everybody falls sometimes.”

“That’s what papa said, but the other kids… they said mean things to me, about being clumsy and getting all dirty and hurt.”

Belle sighed. “Oh, Bailey. Those kids don’t know anything. One fall doesn’t mean you’re a klutz, it means you fell once. You need to get back on the field and show them how great you can be.”

He mumbled out an “I guess” as they turned into the driveway.

“Let’s get some dinner in you, okay?” she said, remembering what Mr. Gold had planned for them to have. Belle went to the kitchen as they entered, opening the fridge door and seeing a note in Mr. Gold’s scrawl _\- “Pull chicken from freezer around 11am.”_

“Well, Bailey,” Belle said, pushing a curl away from her face and opening the freezer door, pulling out an entire frozen chicken. “It seems our dinner is completely frozen. I forgot to thaw this.”

He stared back at her, and then she began to laugh, and he began to laugh. “Well, we can’t go hungry, can we?” Belle mused as she put the chicken back in and rifled through the freezer. “Oh! Brilliant.”

She had found a package of frozen chicken nuggets. “Do you like these?”

Bailey smiled. “Yes. But Papa never makes them unless I’m sick or something.”

 _“Of course not,”_ she thought to herself.

“Well, we’re going to make an exception tonight,” she said, turning on the oven. “And I’m going to make one of my specialties to go with it.”

He seemed intrigued, and she went to the pantry, pulling out a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Bailey grinned again, probably happy this new nanny was dumb enough to go against all his father’s rules on the first day. “I would call this a perfect meal in college, or for a kid,” Belle said, setting some water to boil on the stove. Bailey had turned on the TV in the living room, and she could keep an eye on him from the kitchen. She called to him when dinner was done, and he had almost his whole meal gone with minutes. “You _were_ hungry,” she said, laughing.

“Thank you for dinner,” he said, putting his plate away and leaving the room for moment, returning to the table with a sheet of paper.

“Homework?” she asked, and he nodded.

“Awful,” Belle said, seeing he was doing some simple math. “Let me know if you need help, though.”

He laughed. “You’re funny, Belle.”

“Why, thank you,” she said, just as she heard the front door unlocking.

“Papa’s home!” Bailey said, jumping up from his work and running to the door. Belle stood up, waiting by the kitchen doorway and realizing she was going to have to explain why there were chicken nuggets on her plate and absolutely no vegetables in sight.

“Ms. French,” Mr. Gold said, giving her a slight smile, his expression cool. “Bailey tells me you’ve had an interesting dinner.”

Belle took a deep breath, nodding. “Yes, well, I forgot to thaw the chicken. In my defense, the note was in the fridge and I didn’t see it until we got back from soccer.”

He stared at her for a moment, and she wondered if she was about to be fired for faulty caregiving, but then he shrugged. “It happens. My fault for not writing it somewhere you would see it.”

She paused, unsure what to say next. “Everything else go okay, then?” he said, taking a plate and dishing some of the macaroni left in the pot out onto it.

“Yes, yes, perfectly,” she said. “I think it was a good first day, save for nutrition.”

That actually got a laugh out of him, and she felt relieved, noticing how much younger he appeared when he stopped looking so damn serious. “Did your meetings go okay?”

“Yes, thank you,” he said, setting his plate down at the kitchen table but not sitting. “You’re, um, welcome to be on your way home now.”

“Oh! Yes, certainly,” Belle said awkwardly, gathering her purse and sweater. “Good night, Bailey. Good luck with the math.”

He waved to her from her seat, and Mr. Gold followed her to the door. “See you tomorrow, Ms. French,” he said, and she nodded.

“Tomorrow.”


	3. Chapter 3

Callum Gold jumped when his office door opened. Regina Mills tilted her head, hands across her chest as she walked towards his desk. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Gold.”

“No, just… zoned out,” he said, clicking to minimize the page on his computer screen from her wandering eyes.

“Secretive,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Now, have you made a decision on the Arendelle case?”

“Has the coroner's office gotten back to us about the body?”

Mills stiffened, always uncomfortable talking about death. “No. But considering it was frozen…”

“Proves nothing about our client,” he said, “Now, if you’re going to keep wasting my time by coming in here without new information…”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s no wonder you don’t have a girlfriend with that charm,” she said, closing the door with a bang. Gold sighed, pulling the tab back up on his computer.

_“Belle French, senior, is president of the First Book club, co-sponsor of the mentoring group, and a writer for the University Weekly. She has been on the Dean’s List since her first semester at UBC, and is honored by her Homecoming Court nomination.”_

This was one of the articles he’d found upon first search for her, but he pulled it up again to make sure he hadn’t imagined it a month into her employment with him. The university article featured all the homecoming candidates, and Belle’s profile featured a photo of a younger-her smiling widely at the camera, a book in hand. This woman was clearly brilliant, meant to excel and right now she was, what? Buying cereal for him and his son? Vacuuming his bedroom? It was ridiculous. She was far too intelligent and promising to be working as a nanny and housekeeper. It was probably a crime for him to employ her, and yet he had no real reason to ask her to go.

He had been worried about how Bailey would take the loss of Aurora, but his son had quickly come to adore Belle. It was hard not to, with her dry humor and easy going manner. Of course, he’d hardly thought about her in more than a professional way. He had noticed the silly little heels she was prone to wear, or the tight, brightly colored dresses she favored, or how lovely her cerulean eyes looked in the morning light that came in through the kitchen windows. She had recently insisted he call her Belle instead of Ms. French, which would take some getting used to. Gold shook his head, closing out his internet browser. He was wasting valuable work time thinking about the _nanny_.  When he really thought about it, she was probably just doing it for the money.

He found it interesting that Belle already had a friend in Storybrooke - she knew Ruby Lucas from Granny’s Diner from college. He smirked to himself, wondering what kind of things Ruby might have said about him. He was strict about rent, heartless in the courtroom, avoidant of town festivities… and a good father. He was rather hopeful that people thought the last thing. Looking at the photos on his desk of his son through the years, Gold felt the familiar pull at his heart he always did when he reflected on his son. Bailey was an incredible child despite being raised by a single parent, luckily for him, since Bailey’s mother and his ex-wife left few happy memories in her absence.

His phone buzzed suddenly, distracting him from the sentimental train of thought.

Text from Belle French: _Pork roast or steak for dinner?_

Text from Belle French: _Reply fast, or else you’re having frozen pizza._

Gold shook his head. _“Pork sounds good,”_ he replied, to which she immediately responded with a bunch of thumbs up and dancing emojis.

If anything, she was making him more hip, with the way she texted him instead of calling him. Aurora had rarely deviated from his “suggested” weekly meal plans, but Belle tended to be  bold. More than once, he’d come home to find his son and Belle trying to appear innocent while they ate pizza or burgers or something else he would never cook himself. He had also found “oreos” on one of the receipts she’d given to him, which was certainly not on the shopping list and when he pointed it out, she gave him a guiltless shrug. While it wasn’t that he didn’t like junk foods, they just didn’t hit the food groups a child needed to grow. Still, he supposed Bailey should be allowed to eat like a child some days.

If anything, the price of Belle’s time as their nanny wouldn’t be monetary, but the bigger size clothing he’d need to get for him and Bailey. He groaned, idly wondering if he should join a gym as he headed to an afternoon meeting. After the meeting, Regina caught up with him in an elevator. “Who’s Belle?” she asked.

“Beg your pardon?” he replied, thrown off by her question.

“When we were talking about the Boyd case, you said ‘Belle’ instead of ‘Boyd’ and corrected yourself. Twice.”

“Maybe my son and I watched _Beauty and the Beast_ last night,” he said, staring ahead.

“Oh, I doubt it,” she said, narrowing her eyes. She waited for him to say something more, but he didn’t. For some reason, he didn’t feel like telling Regina that Belle was Bae’s new nanny that he was slightly fascinated by and currently trying to kill any interest in. “Fine, if you’re not going to say who she is, at least stop letting her distract you and get back on your game.”

Regina huffed off the elevator, heels clacking. Gold put his hands in his pockets, happy to have shaken her off. He didn’t need Regina on his case, but if he really did have Belle on the brain, maybe he needed to do something about it. He shook his head as he got in his car, ready to go home for the day. Belle was simply the nanny, and she was so interesting because she was still an unusual feature in his home, that was all.

“Mr. Gold,” Belle called from his kitchen as soon as he opened the door. “Check it out!”

He entered, curious what she sounded so excited about. The smell of spices surrounded him, and she proudly pointed to a pot on the oven. “I’m making those potatoes the way you like them! No fire this time!”

Gold smiled, giving her an approving nod as Bailey ran over from his computer to give him a hug. “No fire extinguisher this time,” came Bailey’s little voice, his face crushed to Gold’s side.

Belle laughed. “I’m still sorry, by the way.”

“It’s no matter,” he said.

Last week, he’d come home to Belle and Bailey in havoc as Belle tried to extinguish a fire she had somehow started over cooking potatoes incorrectly. Instead of being scared when it was all over, Belle had a laughing fit at her own misfortune. Bailey hadn’t been scared, either, thinking the whole thing quite exciting. Instead of being upset, Gold laughed, too. He thought that was one of the things he liked the most about Belle, she wasn’t afraid of him. When he went out to eat in town, people hardly made eye contact. Belle looked him right in the eye and laughed, no fear about her. She was at ease in his home. She had, of course, apologized profusely when the fire alarm had stopped going off and her giggling had subsided. She offered to buy him a new pan, but he waved her off.

“You should be grateful that we don’t have a sprinkler system, Ms. French,” he’d said, glancing up at the ceiling.

She nodded. “I suppose I wouldn’t want to pay for your dry cleaning.”

“No, you would not.”  He smoothed out his suit.

“Well, I make no promises that this,” she had said, waving her hands around the kitchen, still smokey, the stove still covered in fire extinguisher foam, “will never happen again, but I’ll try my best.”

And now, a week later, she had mastered the potatoes. Belle curtsied, a silly gesture, pulling out a chair at the table. After dishing out pork roast, potatoes, and salad to him and Bailey, she stood back. “Well. I’ll take my leave. Goodnight, guys.”

“Why don’t you stay?” Bailey asked. “You made it. You should eat it.”

Belle froze, at once at a loss for words. She opened her mouth, and then closed it.

“Belle should stay, right, Papa?”

Gold grimaced, and Belle turned to look at him. “We can’t intrude on Belle’s personal time, Bae. If she wants to go, she can go. But there’s more than enough food for the two of us if she wishes to stay.”

He watched as his son turned his pleading eyes to his nanny, and watched something in Belle’s face shift. She smiled, a tight closed-mouth smile. “Sure. Why not.”

Belle made herself a plate of dinner, sitting down next to Bailey across from Gold. She hardly spoke as Bailey chattered onto him about his field day at school, likely because Bailey had already told her all about it. She quietly cleaned up from dinner, and he told her he’d get the dishes. She seemed surprised, but accepted, and he followed her as she went to the door to leave.

“Belle,” he said, and she turned. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” she asked, confused.

“If staying for dinner made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”

“Oh no! That was fine. I’m a pretty good chef, if I do say so myself,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder in mock-pride.

“You didn’t say very much, so I just thought…”

Belle shifted, chewing her bottom lip. “Well, I actually got into a fight with my father last night and it’s put me in a bad mood all day.”

“Oh,” he said.

“Yeah,” Belle said, trailing off awkwardly. “He’s not too pleased I quit my last job.”

She fidgeted with the straps of her purse nervously.

“I’m sorry for intruding, I shouldn’t have asked,” he said.

“It’s fine. I should separate my personal life from my work life.”

“What does your mother say about it?” he asked, trying to get her to leave on a lighter note than this.

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “She’s dead. Died right before I graduated high school.”

“Oh,” he said again. “I’m so sorry.”

Belle shrugged. “There was no way for you to know. It’s okay.” She smiled for moment, putting her hand on his shoulder. “I think it’s time for me to go now, Mr. Gold.”

She removed her hand almost as quickly as he put it there, but he felt like his shoulder was burning, electrified by her touching him. He was as bad as a middle school boy with his first crush. Belle was too young for him, and certainly had a romantic life outside this house.

“Is that…” he asked suddenly, looking at the book poking out of the corner of her purse. “Mine?”

Belle’s cheeks suddenly went pink, and she pulled it out. “Yes. But it’s not technically stealing if I work here and I had every intention of bringing it back.”

“Relax, Belle,” he said. “Though taking something that doesn’t belong to you is certainly stealing, I’ve noticed that you’ve been taking my books. I don’t mind, truly.”

“Oh,” she said, smiling shyly. “Thank you.”

“It’s good that they’re getting some use, I hardly have time,” he admitted. “What with work, and when I’m not working I’m eating, sleeping, or spending time with Bae.”

“Bae?” she asked.

“It’s a nickname for Bailey. It’s what he called himself when he was a toddler.”

“That’s sweet,” Belle said, and he could tell she meant it.

“Speaking of Bailey, I should probably go make sure he’s doing homework on that computer and not just playing games,” he said, glancing back at the kitchen.

“Probably,” she said with a nod, and there was an awkward moment of silence. He wondered if he’d already ruined everything with her, or if this just proved they could never be friends, his inability to make even the simplest of conversation with her.

“Goodnight, Mr. Gold,” she said, turning the doorknob and leaving the house.

He went back into check on Bailey, who was actually doing his homework as instructed. He mulled over what to do about Belle after Bailey had gone to bed. There was no way he could fire her for being too lackadaisical, at this point he’d let too much pass for that to make sense. She probably wouldn’t handle being fired for being overqualified very well. Truth be told, he didn’t want to get rid of her. Bailey liked her, she was a positive presence in their home. It would be hard to replace her. Gold stared at himself in his bathroom mirror. He was twenty years her senior, and their only shared interest was his son who she was paid to care for. She deserved someone younger with a lot more heart to give than his scarred one.

He sighed, climbing into bed and resolving to himself that he would not let this woman further into his life. She was hired help to him, and that was all. There was nothing special about her laugh or perfect smile. Nothing at all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than normal, but I hope you enjoy it!

“Good morning, Belle,” he said, hardly looking up from the e-mail on his phone as the nanny walked in, shrugging off her rain jacket. It had been a week since she’d awkwardly told him about her fight with her father, and he’d been trying to interact less with her. Professional interactions only, and that way the heart would not be tempted to wander towards the pretty brunette who  _ should _ be a librarian.

“Good morning,” she said, ruffling Bailey’s hair and reminding the boy that it was a half day at school. She opening the fridge, surely looking for things to put together for his lunch.

“I’m working from home today,” Gold said after a bit of silence, and Belle paused, looking back at him from where she was now spreading mustard on a piece of bread. “I won’t get in your way, or anything, but I thought you should know. I couldn’t confirm I wasn’t needed in the office until this morning, but it means you’ve got yourself a half day of work.”

Belle nodded. “Sounds fine,” she said, a mischievous look appearing on her face. “I guess that means you’d like me to vacuum right outside your office when you’re on a call?”

Bailey and Gold both laughed. “That might be helpful, actually,” Gold said, “I could tell them it’s bad connectivity and then _ I  _ could get a half day, too.”

She smiled at him, turning back to her lunch-making. Later that morning, Gold was in his office filling out some paperwork when he heard something strange. He followed the noise, finding Belle on a ladder, trying to move the curtains on the library’s windows.  _ “Fuck,” _ she whispered, obviously frustrated.

“I certainly hope you don’t use that kind of language around my son,” he said. Belle started a little, clearly surprised to see him, and he was worried she’d fall off the ladder in the silly heels she wore to work.

“What  _ are _ you doing?” he asked, stepping towards her. 

“What does it look like?” she asked, sounding slightly exasperated. “Trying to let some light in, it’d be so much nicer in here.”

“It’s raining today,” he pointed out.

“Perfect reading atmosphere,” she returned, continuing to mess with them. “Did you _ nail  _ these down?”

“Yes,” he replied, trying his hardest to look serious.

She rolled her eyes, tugging at the curtains, finally succeeded in getting the curtain open. In her excitement, she released the curtain too quickly, falling off the ladder and somehow directly into Gold’s arms. “Oh,” she said, looking up at him, their faces closer than they had ever been, staring right at each other. Her eyes were the clearest blue he’d ever seen on another human, almost too pretty to be real. 

He set her down gently, wiping his hands off on his suit. “Thank you,” she said softly. 

“It’s… no matter,” he said, trying to steady his quickened heart rate. “But don’t climb up a ladder on heels again, please. I could’ve done opened them for you, if you’d asked.”

Belle was embarrassed, her cheeks a telltale pink, biting her lip as she looked back up at the now visible window and back to him. “I don’t want to have to find a new nanny because you broke your ankle, you know?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood. 

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, I just saw how dark it was and thought how lovely it’d be to be all cozy with a book next to the window as it rains and got inspired… I won’t do it again,” she  said, looking down.

“Hey,” he said, reaching his hand to her shoulder. “You’re okay, Belle. Nobody got hurt. And you’re right.”

He dropped his hand, motioning towards a bookshelf. “Maybe tonight I’ll spend some time re-reading one of these.”

Her eyebrows went up, suddenly intrigued. “You’ve read  _ all _ of them?”

Gold chuckled at the awe in her voice, scanning the rows. “Most of them, I would say. Some of them not yet, but between work and Bae…”

“I understand that,” Belle said, a gentle smile returning to her face.

“I’m sure,” he said. “Now, come on. I think you can take the rest of the day off, I can get Bailey from school.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I haven’t done half the things I wanted to today, I got so carried away with the stupid curtains.”

“Yes. Go take some time to read and book,” he said with a wink.

She nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Gold,” she said, heading towards the door.


	5. Chapter 5

It was too early to be up on a Saturday, and yet Belle was sitting in her car working up the energy to go join the other parents and friends watching the soccer game. Bailey had asked if she would come to one of his games, and it was hard to say no to those big brown eyes. She had decided to surprise him this morning. She sighed, looking at her reflection in the mirror on her sun visor. It was chilly in the mornings now, and she wasn’t sure if the beanie she was wearing made her look cute or like she was in tenth grade. Her hair was likely already a mess underneath, so she was stuck with it. Grabbing her thermos of coffee, she headed towards the field where the kids were already beginning to play.

She squinted, trying to find Mr. Gold and feeling a little surprised to see him in jeans and a button down shirt. Belle walked up next to him. “It’s cold,” she said, instead of “ _ hello _ ” like a normal person.

He turned, clearly surprised to see her. “Belle, I didn’t know you were coming.”

She shrugged. “I promised Bailey I’d come to a game or two,” she explained, waving to Bailey as he looked over at the two of them. A grin appeared on his face when he saw Belle before he turned to kick the ball to Grace.

“You didn’t have to do that, but I’m sure Bailey is happy to see you,” he said.

“You’re happy, too,” she said, raising her eyebrows and nudging him with her shoulder. Her mind flashed back to just days before when she had somehow landed in his arms after falling off a ladder, and she felt something zing through her at the memory. Taking a small step away from him, she saw the half-smile appear on his face that she was growing fond of. 

“I’m not unhappy,” he replied, and she laughed, watching as the kids got in their positions for the first quarter. Bailey was defending, his favorite position, and Belle threw him a thumbs up. He’d gotten his game back after a bit more sulking, just like Jefferson said he would. Kids had the luxury of bouncing back easily after a blow. 

“I have, uh, chairs. In the car. If you want to sit,” Gold said, pausing between sentences as Belle looked away from the field and towards him.

“That would be nice, actually. Feel kind of silly for not bringing one myself,” she admitted.

He walked towards the parking lot, and Belle felt herself watching him instead of the game. It was silly to think about it, but her employer really was a handsome man. His longer hair suited him, and his deep brown eyes were quite warm when he wasn’t pretending to be stern. And he didn’t look half bad in the jeans he wore today or the suits he usually favored. It was quite endearing, the way he doted on his son. 

Mr. Gold didn’t even know that she hadn’t even intended to be a nanny when he gave her the job. She wasn’t sure what he thought of her now to begin with, so she was going to keep that fact a secret for as long as she could. Just as her mind trailed off, the parents around her began to cheer, and she got caught up in watching the children play. 

“Chairs,” came Gold’s voice, and she saw he had set up two folding chairs close to where she was standing. “Just in time for the game to be nearly over.”

“Well, better late than never,” she said, settling into the chair closest to her.

He sat in the chair next to hers, and they watched the game in relative silence. “ _ Anyone who doesn’t knows us probably thinks we’re a couple _ ,” Belle thought as she realized how close their arms were to touching on their respective armrests. She chewed on the corner of her lip as she realized that didn’t make her uncomfortable, which unsettled her. It was inappropriate to think of him as anything other than her boss. Just then, Jefferson walked over and made small talk with the two of them, and she was grateful for the end of that train of thought.

Jefferson eventually returned to his own chair on the other end of the field, and Belle looked back to the field just as Bailey scored a goal. Belle jumped up and cheered, Gold following quickly after. Bailey ran over to them after high-fiving his teammates. “Did you guys see it?” he asked, throwing his arms around his father’s middle.

“Yes,” Gold said, smile wide. “Great goal.”

“Thank you!” he said brightly, turning and hugging Belle. 

Gold bit his lip as he watched the nanny embrace his son, the familiarity between them quite obvious even with the short time she had known them. That had to be the reason he thought of her so much - she was such a presence in his son’s life, how could he not? Despite what he told himself, he could not avoid her in real life or stop her from popping up in his mind. Within moments, Bailey was back on the field, amped up for the last few minutes of play.

“He’s a great kid,” Belle said quietly as they settled into their chairs again. “You know, I do hope I wasn’t overstepping my boundaries by coming today.”

“What?” Mr. Gold said, shaking his head. “Bae’s clearly thrilled that you’re here, Belle. It’s not in your job contract to attend extracurriculars like this, but if you don’t mind coming, I don’t see any harm.”

It occurred to him that the only harm would be if she left suddenly - that might break his boy’s heart, and possibly his own. Maybe he shouldn’t have let them get so close, but it was beginning to seem like they were a puzzle and Belle the missing piece they hadn’t even known was missing.  Or, it could be that it had been years since a woman treated him as anything more than a colleague or a superior and his loneliness was projecting itself. They didn’t really talk after that, sticking to just making general comments about the game. The time clock ran out and the referee blew their whistle, signifying the end of the game.

Belle helped him pack up the chairs and said goodbye to Bailey. “See you later, Mr. Gold,” she said, beginning to walk away.

“Callum,” he said, and she stopped and looked at him. “You can call me by my first name, if you want.”

“Oh,” Belle said, a small smile appearing on her face. “In that case, Callum, I’ll see you Monday.”

His name sounded nice coming from her, the careful way she pronounced it in her accent. He wasn’t sure how an Australian had ended up trying to become a librarian in Maine, but then again, he’d never asked. The next time that he saw her, he would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love it if those with tumblrs nominated this story in the Family: Fluff category in The Espenson Awards! Or if you have other category suggestions, please let me know.


	6. Chapter 6

It was her first time working overnight at the Gold’s house. Callum had to be at court all day a few cities over and had asked Belle to spend the night with Bailey while he stayed at a hotel and drove back early the next morning. She made dinner for herself and Bailey, and instead of leaving like she normally would, she got to stick around and hang out with him for the night which didn’t necessarily feel like a job. 

It was a Friday so she had offered to take him to the movies, but Bailey said he had a headache. So instead, she gave him some pain medicine and they’d sat on the couch and watched a rented movie. About halfway through, she felt his small head resting on her shoulder. It was quite cozy, honestly, and part of Belle felt homesick, but she wasn’t quite sure why.

When the credits began to roll, she woke him gently, and he was fast to sleep after she made sure he brushed his teeth and put on his pajamas.  _ “I hope he's not getting sick,” _ Belle thought as she took herself to the guest room she had prepared earlier in the week, making a mental note to mention his headache to his father. She changed into her pajamas and removed her makeup. 

It was always a little tricky for her to fall asleep somewhere new, so she just laid in bed and refreshed her social media over and over again. She texted back and forth with Ruby for a while over the birthday party Ruby was throwing for Belle the next night. Callum had told her he’d be back around 10am, and she intended to be awake and clean up the kitchen and living room before he arrived. 

_ Callum… _ It was still kind of strange to her to use his first name, but she supposed a lot of employees were on a first name basis with their boss when it was a domestic job like this. It was hard for her to tell how he felt about her. Sometimes, they had comfortable, friendly conversation, but other times he wouldn’t even hold eye contact with her. If Belle was honest with herself, she  _ had _ noticed her heart hammering particularly hard after they’d talked recently about being foreigners in America - her from Australia, him from Scotland. Something about him was so endearing to her, but he was still so out of reach.

Belle turned, staring at a generic landscape painting he’d probably chosen years ago for decoration when he bought this house. Maybe his ex-wife had bought it. Had Milah ever lived here? She wasn’t sure. He hadn’t told her anything about his past beyond the fact he was divorced and had full custody of his son.

Maybe she needed to go on a date with someone who wasn’t him. But who could compare when she had this man in her life, who was full of love for his son, full of passion for his work, and who loved to _ read  _ on top of it all? He’d be saying something witty in the back of her mind the whole night, and that wasn’t fair to her hypothetical date.

Maybe she needed a new job in general.

Belle rolled her eyes, wishing her mind didn’t become so dramatic when it got dark outside. She tossed and turned a bit more until her mind finally began to drift off to sleep.

The next morning, Belle woke up to the sound of a door opening. Bleary-eyed, she looked around at her surroundings, trying to remember where she was. Not her apartment, certainly, and not a friend’s house - she was at the Gold’s, working. Had she overslept? Belle whipped around, looking at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was only 8am on a Saturday. Bailey shouldn’t be awake yet, and Callum had said he wouldn’t be back until around 10am.

Belle’s heart thumped in her chest. Who was walking around the house now? An intruder? She should’ve paid more attention when Callum was explaining the fancy security system to her. Instead of turning it on with the code (Bailey’s birthdate, of course), she’d just locked the front door and not thought much of it. What if someone had noticed the Cadillac was gone, and thought now was the perfect time to steal the Gold’s most valuable possessions? Or, what if her mind had just been playing a trick on her, and nobody was in the house at all besides her and Bailey?

She was too paranoid to just go back to sleep now. Getting out of bed carefully, Belle opened one of the dresser drawers and found a large flashlight. She could go see if someone really was walking around the house and knock them out if she had to. She’d taken a self-defense class with her friends in college, and figured the skills would come back if necessary. Creeping out of her room, one hand clutching the flashlight, Belle tiptoed towards where she was certain noise was coming from.

Belle peered into the kitchen, trying her best to seem like a stealthy ninja, not an insecure nanny. There was definitely a man in the kitchen. She creeped in, raising the flashlight preemptively, when she realized - the intruder was not very tall, dressed in a suit, and making coffee. The “intruder” was definitely just Mr. Gold making coffee in his own home. “Callum,” she said, lowering the flashlight quickly. “I thought I heard someone.”

He turned to speak at her, an embarrassed look on his face. “I tried to be quiet, I didn’t want to wake you - why are you holding that flashlight?”

“I thought I heard someone,” she repeated, holding it up, feeling her own cheeks get red. 

“So you were going to hit them with... that,” he surmised, raising his eyebrows before taking a sip of coffee. “I say, Ms. French, you were certainly prepared for the worst case scenario.”

She shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest, setting the flashlight on the kitchen table, suddenly more self-conscious about her old, worn pajamas than she ever had reason to be before. Belle was certain her cheeks were bright red, and she wished she wasn’t wearing bright green fuzzy socks. 

“I texted you that I would be back earlier than expected, Belle,” he said, sitting down at the table. She could’ve sworn there was a smile behind those serious eyes. “Sorry for frightening you.”

“No, don’t apologize. I don’t know why I didn’t think to check my phone. It was just my brain jumping into panic mode, and the adrenaline… I’m glad you’re not an intruder. But I did plan on cleaning a bit before you got here,” she said, thinking of the blankets strewn about the living room and the dishes in the sink.

He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Was Bailey good?”

“Yeah, he seemed a bit more tired than normal and he had a headache after dinner,” she said. 

Callum nodded, running a hand back through his hair. “I hope he’s not getting sick.”

“Me too,” Belle said, and then they were at a standstill.

“You can-”

“Do you want to come to a birthday thing? For me?” Belle asked, cutting off whatever he was going to say.

“Beg your pardon?” he asked.

“Tonight,” Belle said, staring down at her hands. “My birthday is actually Tuesday, but I’ll be working, so my friend Ruby - you know her - is throwing a little get-together at her place tonight. It’ll be lowkey, just a few friends, drinks, appetizers, but not really Bailey-friendly, so if you can’t go because of him, not a big deal, of course, I just thought I’d offer.”

“That would be… nice,” he said. “I didn’t realize your birthday was coming up.”

“Thirty-one!” Belle said, complete with jazz hands and a wide smile. She rolled her eyes then and shrugged. “I’ll text you the address, but seriously, it’s not a big deal. No worries.”

She left the kitchen, leaving him staring at the empty doorway, not quite sure if he had really just been nearly assaulted with a flashlight and invited to Belle French’s birthday party all before 9am.


	7. Chapter 7

Callum felt rather foolish standing outside Ruby Lucas’ door. He’d managed to get Aurora to watch Bailey tonight, but Belle was right, his boy seemed to be under the weather, waking up with a low fever and complaining of body aches. He’d left Aurora stirring a pot of chicken noodle soup, and he had wondered if he was a bad father for leaving his son when he was clearly ill the whole drive to Ruby’s apartment. Bailey had been sleeping for most of the day and he trusted Aurora, and he definitely wouldn’t stay at Ms. Lucas’ place long.

He knew that he deserved to go out and be social sometimes, but he still wasn’t sure this was the right choice. Callum didn’t consider himself to be a man with many friends, but Belle was… Belle. She was, of course, his employee, but also someone he thought he could consider a friend. She’d invited him to her party, after all! He would simply give her the gift, make polite conversation, and exit the building. The Starbucks gift card he’d picked up on his way here as a last-minute gift felt less than adequate in his hands now. Belle deserved something nicer than a few coffees from the family she spent the majority of her time with.

Ms. Lucas had clearly imbibed a few drinks before she opened the door. “ _Mr. Goooold_!” she cooed, “It’s so weird how you’re, like, Belle’s boss now. Come on in, Belle’s in the living room with the snacks.”

She winked after she said this for some reason, hips swaying as she led him into her living room. There were a dozen people, all around Belle’s age, standing around, heads gently nodding to the music. Sure enough, Belle was surveying a table filled with food and talking to a woman with red hair. “Belles!” Ruby said, “Your boss is here! _And_ he brought you a Starbucks card!”

Callum blanched, certain he was giving Ruby a death stare, then reminded himself to relax. He felt like a fish out of water among all of the younger people in their casual clothing. He hadn’t thought to change out of his suit. Belle looked beautiful, the long hair she normally kept up falling down her shoulders in curls, her blue eyes popping in the light pink sweater she wore with a tight pair of jeans.

The redheaded woman smiled at him and walked away with Ruby to a different corner of the room, which was decorated with strings of twinkling lights and some balloons. He sheepishly handed her the gift card, trying to lessen the awkwardness of the situation. “All I could think of on short notice,” he said, “Happy birthday, Belle.”

“Thank you, that’s perfect for before or after work,” she said, smiling gently. He did love it when she smiled like that, so easily and wholeheartedly. He appreciated that she was pretending not to be underwhelmed. “You didn’t have to get me anything though.”

Belle slipped the gift card into her back pocket, and she looked around the room, pointing people out. “You know Ruby, and Ariel is who I was talking to when you arrived, and then some of my other friends are here - Mary Margaret and her husband David, Leroy, Will and his wife Anastasia, Jazzy and her boyfriend Al, Mulan… and then the guy over there with Ruby is George.”

Belle’s mouth tightened on the last name, like it was sour. He shifted his head, giving her a questioning glance. “Thought you said there’d only be a few people here,” he said, gesturing to all the party guests who were looking at him with mild interest. Well, “mild” except for the man talking to Ruby, who was staring at them and seemed angry.

“I thought it would be, but Ruby invited more people,” Belle said, taking a sip of her wine. “Everyone,” she said, speaking a little louder, “This is Callum Gold, my… boss.”

Some people nodded, one woman gave him a slight wave, but for the most part, they all returned to their own conversations. “Why does he look so angry?” he said out of the corner of his mouth, trying to avoid eye contact with the man Belle called George.

“Oh,” she said, biting her lip. “Um, we used to date.”

He felt like he’d been pushed in the chest for some reason. So _that_ was Belle’s type. Glancing back over, he sized the man up. He was quite tall, with wide shoulders and a strong jaw. Probably played football in high school, went to the gym regularly now. Callum wasn’t even sure why he was profiling him, or why some part of him felt jealous.

“Why’d Ruby invite him?” he asked. He hoped she wouldn’t think he was invading her personal life.

“I don’t know. We broke up a year ago. I forgot his aunt lives in Storybrooke,” Belle said, taking another sip of wine. “Technically, we broke up because he moved to Charleston, but it was heading there anyway. It was only a couple months. It wasn’t serious,” she said, and suddenly it seemed like she was trying to assure him of something.

“You don’t have to justify anything to me,” he said quickly.

Belle nodded, biting her lip. “I guess he’s back in town visiting, stopped at the diner, and Ruby just decided to invite him.”

“Lucky him,” Callum said.

“I’m not thrilled he’s here, but that’s why there’s wine,” Belle said, a fake cheery tone to her voice. “I’m a terrible hostess, I haven’t even asked if you need a drink.”

“I’m driving soon,” Callum said, shaking his head and looking over the options on the table. He grabbed a water bottle as Belle spoke with a few of her friends. He felt out of place, and considered leaving right then, but he couldn’t leave without saying goodbye.

Belle returned to stand next to him by the table. He hoped he wasn’t ruining the vibe of her party, or that she didn’t feel obligated to socialize with him.

“Hopefully he doesn’t do something stupid,” he said out loud without meaning to, after watching Ruby float to converse with someone else, leaving George to stand by himself and glower.

“If he does, David’s a cop,” Belle said, nodding at a kind-looking blonde man. “But George’ll behave. He was always kind of… possessive, and didn’t like when I talked to other guys. I don’t think Ruby remembered when she invited him until it was too late. She’s too friendly to take back an offer.”

“Oh.” Callum could not think of a single intelligent thing to say. “I’m sorry.”

“But I’m not dating him anymore, so it doesn’t matter who I do or do not talk to,” she said, sounding firm.

“Cheers to that,” he said dryly, clinking the water bottle he’d picked up at the snack table on her wine glass. Belle giggled at his words, but she suddenly seemed quite older and more tired than he’d ever seen her before. And this was her bloody _birthday_ party. Callum was angry, but this was not the place to cause a scene with the ex-boyfriend of his nanny, or the best friend of his nanny for inviting the douchebag ex-boyfriend.

“You were right about Bae being sick,” he said, trying to change the subject but realizing this one was equally dreary and regretting his words instantly.

She frowned, tilting her head. “I heard both strep and the flu were going around. Both are nasty.”

“Yeah, he just seems exhausted and was running a low fever when I last checked. I’ll get him to the doctor if it persists. Aurora is watching him right now.”

Belle nodded. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“Of course,” he said, scanning the room and seeing that some of Belle’s friends were watching them with interest. The girls glanced away, but he knew they were watching them. “I hate that I’m taking up all your time, I can get going-”

“Belles,” Ruby said, suddenly joining their conversation. Callum shifted uncomfortably away from Belle. “Why are you, like, _always_ talking about work now? You didn’t even want to be a nanny, then all of the sudden you’re obsessed with the kid and Mr. Gold.”

Belle’s eyes widened. “Ruby!” she said, her voice a heated whisper.

“That was so funny, how you just _gave_ her the job,” Ruby said to Callum. He wasn’t sure what Ruby was even trying to get at, and he wondered what she meant when she said Belle was obsessed with him and Bailey. Probably nothing, as she was intoxicated and had also said that Belle didn’t want to be a nanny.  

“I -,” Callum started, but Belle shook her head.

“I interviewed for the job, Ruby, and I enjoy my job. Now why don’t you just go talk to Mary Margaret or something?” she asked, gently pushing her friend toward a woman with a pixie cut who was holding a plate with a cupcake on it.

“You can’t get rid of me forever, French,” Ruby said. “I noticed that weird vibe between the two of you.”

Ruby gave Gold the “ _I’m watching you_ ” signal with her hand, then started talking to the woman who was apparently Mary Margaret.

“I’m sorry,” Belle said with a short laugh. “She’s a bit… unpredictable when she drinks, but she’s my best friend, and she does mean well.”

“I can tell,” he said. “I should be going, Belle.”

He needed to leave before he did something stupid, like continue to probe her about past relationships. She actually seemed disappointed for a second, then smiled. “At least let me wrap up a cupcake for Bailey. Tell him I hope he feels better.”

“I will, thank you,” he said, feeling silly once again as he waited for her to wrap a cupcake up in tin foil for him to take home.

“Here you go,” she said, handing him the cupcake with a soft smile. She looked like she was about to say something else, then stopped, instead reaching her arms around his shoulders and pulling him in for a hug. He felt himself pause, but just as soon as he cautiously put his arms around her to hug her back, she had let go. They were left staring at each other, her with a cute smile and him certainly looking dumbfounded.

“Thanks for coming, and for the gift card. It means a lot to me, truly,” Belle said quickly, and he could tell she meant it.

“It was no matter,” he said, heart racing in his chest. “Thanks for all you do for us.”

He was out the door in minutes, returning home to his son with an unfamiliar sinking feeling in his stomach. Callum was slowly but certainly coming to accept the fact that he was falling in love with her, and he had no clue what to do about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates may slow down a bit as university has thrown multiple meetings at me for every day for the upcoming week. :(  
> Please keep this story in mind for Family Fluff in the TEAs! Thank you so much for the nomination!


	8. Chapter 8

After Belle’s party ended on Saturday, Ariel and Belle spent the night at Ruby’s apartment. After cutting Ruby off from alcohol shortly after Callum left and getting some water and greasy food into her, her friend was back to her normal, slight hungover self by the morning. “Sorry for what I said to Gold,” Ruby said, scrubbing at the now-empty salsa bowl. “And I forgot George was such a jerk ‘til I saw him glaring at Gold.”

“It’s okay, I think I saved it with Gold,” Belle said with a shrug, drying some wine glasses.

“You could have said  _ anything _ to save it,” Ariel said, and her and Ruby laughed.

Belle frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The man is smitten, kitten,” Ariel said as she put the clean dishes away. “He was looking at you like you were the most important person in the room.”

“It was  _ my _ party,” Belle said, swallowing quickly.  _ Had he really looked at her like that?  _ “And I was the only person he knew there.”

“No, I got the vibe that he was into you, too, Belle,” Ruby said. “I’ve known Mr. Gold a long time, and I’ve never seen him talk to someone the way he talks to you. It’s actually cute, and you know I’m not Gold’s biggest fan.”

“Really?” she said, wonder in her voice. Her friends nodded, seeming surprised she hadn’t noticed it before.

“Yeah, Belles, and if he wasn’t dressed like he was about to go to a funeral I may have told him he should stick around longer,” Ruby said.

Ariel laughed. “Poor man was so out of place. But he showed up anyway, Belle, for you.”

Belle let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes, words spilling out. “Because I think I might be into him, and I just don’t know what to do. He’s my boss. And he’s got a kid. And I love his kid, and, oh my God, I just might _ love _ him.”

The girls abandoned their cleaning to sit on one of Ruby’s couches and let Belle explain how she had gone from being intimidated by her employer to feeling things that she was not supposed to feel for him. But what if he returned the feelings, like her friends seemed to think - it was impossible, wasn’t it? 

They’d ordered Belle to go to work on Monday and report back to them on how he acted towards her. She had felt almost giddy when she walked in, surprised to see Mr. Gold already headed her way. “Belle, you should go home,” he said, looking a bit manic.

“Callum, what’s wrong?” she asked, setting her purse down and narrowing her eyes at him. Her dreamy mood was instantly gone, it was back to work as usual. His face had a shine to it, like he was sweating, but she didn’t know him to be someone who went to the gym before work.

“Bailey’s still under the weather. He’s on the mend now, but I don’t want you to catch it,” he said. “I’ll work from home today and care for him. I should have just called you yesterday, but I didn’t sleep too well last night, and -”

Belle pursed her lips, stepping forward and placing her hand on Callum’s forehead. “You’re burning up,” she said. “Go back to bed.”

“But -”

“Call into work and go back to bed, Callum,” she said. “You’re sick.”

He looked like he was going to protest, then let out a breath, shoulders slumping. He was clearly exhausted. “Yes, ma’am,” he said sheepishly, turning around.

“Take off that suit and put on some pajamas,” she called out after him, rolling her eyes. 

_ Men. _

Belle peeked into Bailey’s room, finding him tucked into his covers and reading a book. “Need anything?” she asked. He shrugged. She pointed at the thermometer on his bedside table, and he obediently put it under his tongue. 

“No fever,” Belle said, sounding pleased. “Let me know if you do need anything, okay? I’ll stay and take care of you and your dad today.”

She retreated to the kitchen, ravaging through one of the drawers to find cold and flu medicine for Callum. This would hold him over until she could get him into the doctor’s. She poured a tall glass of water and knocked gently on his door.

“Brought you some medicine,” she said.

“I was supposed to have a big meeting today over Skype,” he said weakly.

“Well,” Belle said, setting the pills and water on his nightstand and crossing her arms, “there’s no way you’re fit to do any work with whatever you have. Was Bae diagnosed with the flu?”

He didn’t answer her question, instead taking the pills with a gulp of water.

“Keep drinking that,” she said. “You’ve not thrown up at all, right?” He nodded, watching her from half-closed eyes. “Great, just try and rest for now. I’ll call the doctors.”

Callum suddenly shook his head. “Don’t need a doctor.”

Belle frowned. “Of course you do.”

“No, give it a couple days and it’ll run out of my system. Bae’s was viral, I just have what he has. No need to go anywhere.”

She bit her lip, then remembered that her mother always complained that her father acted like a proud, wounded tiger when he was sick. “If you say so,” she said, taking the now empty glass of water. “I’ll put a bit of Gatorade in here for some electrolytes.”

“Thanks, Belle,” he said. “You know you’re not supposed to be a nurse. Just a nanny.”

“I think we both know I’m more than just the nanny,” she said softly, heart thumping loudly in her chest. She hadn’t meant to sound as serious as she did.

Their eyes met and they held each other’s gaze, and Belle felt connected to him in a new way, like he could tell how she truly felt about him. It was different from any other time they had spoken, about Bailey or the price of zucchini or something happening on the news. It was heartfelt, and new, and delicate. Or he was just feverish and tired. “You are,” he confirmed softly. He dropped her gaze a moment too soon, and looked at the empty glass in her hand.

_ Of course. _ He was sick, and she was his temporary caretaker. Belle gave him a tight-lipped smile and left the room, feeling like her heart was deflating. Had she imagined that whole moment? Was it one-sided on her part?

When she returned with his drink, she found him fast asleep. She quietly closed the door as she left his room, and then began wiping down all the surfaces in the house. Belle was fairly certain she’d end up with whatever the boys had, but taking preventative measures wouldn’t hurt. She sat on the couch, thinking about her words with Callum before he fell asleep. He probably wouldn’t even remember that had happened in a few hours. Belle idly flipped the channels on the television. Nothing good was on in the afternoon.

“Belle?” came a small voice. “I’m really hungry,” said Bailey, appearing in the doorway in his pajamas. “I haven’t been hungry in a week, I think.”

Belle smiled, getting up and ruffling his hair as she led him back to his room after making him a cup of tea in the kitchen. “That means you’re getting better, your appetite is coming back! Do you have a taste for something?”

Bailey shrugged. “Maybe pizza. Or anything that is not soup.”

She laughed, returning to the kitchen and finding a frozen pizza. She brought Bailey an apple to munch on as a snack while the pizza cooked in the oven. Belle took to organizing the kitchen, finding Callum’s briefcase and wiping the handle of it down with Lysol wipes. A few papers sat on top of it, and she moved them off without caring much about their contents. Law stuff went over her head. 

As she set them back down, she noticed a yellow sticky note written on in Gold’s scrawl. “ _ Ask B-- _ ”.

The top paper was a hotel reservation for 3 a few weeks from today, and the next was information on the city aquarium. She twisted her mouth, wondering if “B” was Bailey, or maybe her. Or if Bailey was going and bringing a friend. Or maybe Callum was bringing a friend who wasn’t her. She put the papers back down, hearing the ding of the oven. It was just a mystery that would have to be explained when Callum was up for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will likely be updated weekly instead of twice a week due to a busier schedule! Thanks for understanding. Please consider voting for this story in The Espenson Awards for Family: Fluff. :)


	9. Chapter 9

A week and a half ago, Callum had been completely down for the count with some virus that was not the flu but not strep but not quite bronchitis. Either way, he had been completely miserable. Even his brain hurt just to think, but he knew he had much to be grateful to Belle for. She’d gotten Bailey to and from school and all his other activities while staying mindful of his condition. Once he was feeling himself again, he extended her an offer he never would have imagined himself giving her when she first stepped into his life.

Now, they were seated together at Granny’s dinner, both eating cheeseburgers and french fries. Bailey was with them as well, but his friend Grace’s family was eating a few booths away and Jefferson hadn’t minded Bailey joining them for a bit.

“So, I leave with Bailey on Friday after school, we do some sightseeing, you go to some fancy dinner with your office, we all spend the night at a hotel, and then we go to the aquarium and then leave the next day,” Belle said, summing up the trip quite well as she dipped her fry in ketchup.

“Yes,” he confirmed. “You don’t think it’s silly, right? I just thought it might be good… for Bailey.”

Really, he had wanted to make a move towards something more than friendship with Belle for awhile, and taking her outside of Storybrooke seemed like a step in the right direction. He wasn’t exactly sure what would happen, but he hoped it would end well, and not with them ending up further apart. Of course, he was framing it all as a day trip for Bailey.

She gave a small nod. “For Bailey, of course. _Or_ … you just want to spend more time with me.”

Belle raised her eyebrows, and he could tell she was teasing, though she’d hit the nail on the head. “I can’t say that’s not a benefit,” he said, suddenly too aware that one of her hands was resting on the table. He began to move his hand towards hers, then noticed her stiffen, eyes wider than before.

“Belle?” he asked, moving his hand back.

“George just came in,” she said, staring down at her food. His appetite was suddenly gone as he turned, the tall man entering the diner and moving towards a bar seat, then catching Belle’s eye and walking towards them.

“Belle,” he said. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Hello,” she said, giving him a tight-lipped smile. “I didn’t know you were still in town.”

“I’m actually interviewing for a job back up here,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets, a confident smile on his face. “Wouldn’t it be crazy if I ended up living here?”

Gold was not typically a jealous or vengeful man, but something in him was glowering. Belle looked so uncomfortable, and he knew he had to do something about it.

“Crazy would be a word for it,” she politely agreed.

“Hey,” George said, as if he was suddenly noticing Callum for the first time. “You’re Belle’s boss, right? With the kid. But where’s…”

He looked around the diner, not seeing Bailey, who was blocked by Jefferson. Callum suddenly got an idea. “We’re here without my son,” Gold said casually, sitting up straight and trying not to blow the plan he’d quickly come up with. He saw Belle shoot him a questioning glance, and he winked at her. “Right, sweetheart?”

The pet name rolled right off his tongue, and he glanced at George who was clearly confused. “You two are…”

“Together,” Belle supplied, reaching her hand out and entwining it with Callum’s, giving it a quick squeeze. She had clearly realized what he was doing.

George looked between them, shaking his head. “I can’t believe this,” he muttered.

“Sometimes, life surprises you in the most wonderful way,” Belle said, looking at Callum, her eyes sparkling. He knew she was just hamming it up to get her ex to go away, but somehow, it felt real.

George shook his head. “Whatever. Bye, Belle.”

Callum was pretty sure he heard the other man say " _unbelievable_ ” as he stalked right out the door of the diner. “Thank you,” Belle said quietly, squeezing his hand with hers.

He began to speak, planning to say it was no big deal or that he’d do anything for a friend, when Bailey suddenly appeared next to them. “Grace’s dad wants to know if it’s okay if we order ice cream.”

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Jefferson shooting him an apologetic glance. Maybe it was obvious he was trying to make a move on Belle, but failing in a pathetic way. “Sure,” he said with a nod. “Go ahead.”

It was a school night, but he wasn’t going to deal with a “ _why not_ ” chorus if he said no. “You guys are holding hands!” Bailey said suddenly, looking at their table. Belle hadn’t let go when George walked away. “Cool.”

Seemingly satisfied, the boy walked back towards his friend and her family. Callum blinked, surprised by his son’s observation and approval. He’d have to talk to him about it at some point, he supposed.

“Caught red-handed,” Belle said, a clear blush on her cheeks as she retracted her hand.

“Red-handed, or hold-handed?” he said aloud, realizing how silly it sounded. Belle giggled nonetheless.

“Thank you, for real,” she said, pushing her hair behind her ear. “I hope he doesn’t get a job here.”

“Me too,” Callum agreed. “I can do some asking around, see if I can pull any rank…”

“Callum,” she said, sounding slightly shocked. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

He shrugged. “I have to use my reputation for something, don’t I? I care about you, and George makes you uncomfortable, and therefore it’s in my best interest that he doesn’t stay in the scene.”

To his delight, Belle smiled softly at him. “Thank you,” she said. She reached her hand out to his, running her thumb along his gently. “Is this okay?” she asked, voice suddenly timid.

He nodded dumbly. It was more than okay, it was wonderful. Belle _wanted_ to hold his hand. They sat like that for a moment, and he felt like everything had frozen and it was just the two of them, suspended here in time. Her actions had definitely made him think she returned his feelings for her.  

“The trip sounds fun,” Belle said finally. “I haven’t been to an aquarium in ages.”

“Neither have I,” he said. “Bailey’s quite excited.”

She nodded, smiling as the waitress dropped off their check. By some stroke of luck, Ruby was off duty tonight, or else he was sure that they’d have been peppered with dozens of questions by now.

Callum regretted that he had to move his hand from hers to sign off on their check, Bailey joining them at the table before they left. Belle wiped a smudge of chocolate syrup off his face with her napkin, making a funny face at him while she did. Yes, she fit right in here. He knew he needed to think of the perfect way to officially ask her to stop being his employee and start being his girlfriend.


End file.
